Christina Nolan’s campaign manager has worked for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and for a candidate who was the defense lawyer for Kyle Rittenhouse.
Two highway deaths, one wrong-way trucker
Two people died in separate accidents in eastern Vermont, and trucker from Dallas drove the wrong way on I-91 in Coventry.
Life insurance payouts up 163% in 2021
Life insurance companies claims were way up in 2021, according to national news reported by CLG.
Man bean-bagged by state trooper falls off roof
Soon after being struck by a bean-bag round fired by a state trooper, a crazy-acting man fell from a roof 15 feet to the ground.
Warner: when progressives deny science, people die
Because of his government power, Lysenko had power over both Russia’s agricultural practices and the scientists who might speak out against him. This would prove to be disastrous for both.
China uses Covid ‘health code’ apps to quash bank protests / Tesla catches fire after three weeks in junkyard
Chinese government Covid apps are being to prevent citizens from withdrawing money from banks.
Former school board member, law enforcement pro Gaiotti seeks “balance” in Legislature
A longtime school board member, businessman, and law enforcement professional will seek the House seat for several Bennington and Rutland county communities.
Keelan: make legislative terms 4 years, give them dental
With such a massive change in leadership and members about to occur, maybe it is time to rethink how the Legislature is elected, operates, and is compensated.
School reaches BLM flag compromise
With the Supreme Court discouraging the exclusive flying of the BLM flag, Vermont schools are reaching for compromises. This headline and others from today’s Vermont media.
CORRECTION: Soros-backed Sarah George complains of ‘misinformation’ after challenger calls out car thief catch-and-release
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George is unhappy about statements made by Ted Kenney, a Williston lawyer running against her on a platform of “criminal justice reform and safe streets.”
Mazur: Biden programs prolong inflation, expand debt
President Biden and Congress have turned a blind eye to fast-emerging trust fund deficits.
VPIRG denies 2020 general election ballot harvesting
“You asked about ballot harvesting, which is not a legal term. I’m guessing you’re asking whether VPIRG collected completed ballots from voters and submitted them for processing in the 2020 election. The answer to that question is no,” Executive Director Paul Burns said.
Two men die in family dispute over $$, property
Jay Wilson fatally shot Dieter Seier during a family dispute involving Wilson and his mother that related to property and money, police say.
Driver dies after accident at hospital
A Bennington man died after a two-car crash outside a hospital.
Fear of drag queen show prompted Canaan school threat: court records
“Within a week after Gobeil was trespassed from Canaan, VT school property, for harrassing/intimidating students, other parents, and staff regarding mask recommendations, Gobeil communicated to people inside Solomon’s Store a threat to kill a lot of people at Canaan school, and he expressed concern about a potential ‘drag queen show,’” court records say.
Water Cooler: making Burlington Boys & Girls Club safer after nearby shooting
Recent headlines from Vermont news media.
Black member booted off St. Albans Belonging, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
Keith Longmore is – or rather, was – a black member of the St. Albans advisory committee formed to help citizens “understand the experience of historically marginalized groups.”
Woodstock man killed mother’s friend, then himself: police
Jay Wilson, the suspect in a fatal shooting Tuesday afternoon at 13 Slayton Terrace in the town of Woodstock, shot himself to death and was located late Tuesday night inside the house, state police say.
Canaan dad arrested for threat to school
A 36-year-old Canaan man has been arrested in New Hampshire for making threats against the local high school.
Pandemic baby boomlet strong in New Hampshire, not so much in Vermont
New England has seen an unusual uptick in births during the coronavirus pandemic as more highly educated residents, especially those in their 30s, seized working from home as an opportunity to start a family.
Burlington/SoBu rent 43rd highest in nation
Rents rose 11.3% last year nationwide, and in Burlington – South Burlington, the median monthly rent is $1,248.
Lack of action plan hinders Global Warming Solutions Act progress
Two years after the Vermont Legislature passed the Global Warming Solutions Act, the “how” of reaching the stringent carbon emissions goals remains unclear, the Joint Fiscal Office says.
New Ben & Jerry’s employees must view four hours of Israeli-Palestinian social programming
Newly hired employees joining the Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream company are required to watch four video lectures, each an hour in length, featuring activists discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as part of their job orientation, a news source says.
Cited for dealing drugs to overdose victim, then released
A Marshfield man has been cited to appear in court for dealing cocaine to a Waitsfield man who overdosed in October.
Canaan high school threatened; no state $$ for SROs, guv says
The tiny town of Canaan in the northeasternmost corner of the state is the latest to suffer a school safety threat.
Water Cooler: Balint campaign winks ‘red box’ at PACs / Latest on Burlington homeless ‘pods’
Campaigns aren’t supposed to reach out to PACS for support. But a ‘red box’ on Congressional candidate Becca Balint’s campaign website may be doing just that – this headline and others from VT media today.
Sarah George a rising star in Soros-backed group backing progressive prosecutors
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George has strong ties to a George Soros-funded organization promoting progressive prosecutors nationwide.
Sentenced to life without parole, Shelburne man who strangled his wife set to walk free
Gregory FitzGerald admits he strangled his wife to death in 1993. He was sentenced to life without parole. But due to some apparent courtroom errors, he may soon go free.
Zero-interest down payments and Sharia-friendly lending part of BIPOC lending initiative
Zero-interest lending to BIPOC groups, with sensitivity to Sharia law, is a key feature in a new Champlain Housing Trust initiative.
Burlington firemen on emergency calls face assault, firetruck theft attempt
Someone threw a box at a Burlington fire truck windshield as it hurried to an emergency scene last week, the local firefighters’ union reports.
WAPO: Google AI wants to be company employee, not property
A Google engineer told the Washington Post an artificial intelligence he has talked with is advocating for its rights as a person, and has discussed religion, consciousness, and robotics.
Coke dealer convicted for trading drugs for guns / Alleged poacher sentenced for gun possession
A Colchester man involved in a shooting outside a Burlington bar has been sentenced for dealing cocaine and trading cocaine for a semi-automatic pistol.
Dame: Anything but the economy
Even if you drive a Tesla and aren’t feeling the pain at your own pump, you can be sure that those costs are still making its way to you through every Amazon delivery truck that still runs in diesel.
Bear-human conflicts reported
Today, Vermont is home to a stable bear population estimated at 4,600 to 5,780, almost four times the state’s estimated population of 1,200 to 1,500 bears in 1975.
Vermont to launch 3-digit suicide hotline #
Headlines from Vermont media include: a new suicide hotline number, Burlington’s growing graffiti problem, and this weekend’s gun control march at State House.
VT Secretary of State installing new Dominion ballot counting machines
All Vermont vote tabulating machines are being replaced with new Dominion machines that scan and create an image of each ballot.
Donovan resigns, takes senior exec post with Big Tech
TJ Donovan has gone to work for a Big Tech giant whose stock is in the dumpster.
Repeat car thief busted, police say
A Winooski man arrested repeatedly for car theft – and then failing to appear in court – was jailed last week after police say he stole a car off of a Burlington dealership parking lot.
Shorts: Stop the Champlain Parkway! / Why Pieciak became a lawyer / Logger runs for House / ‘Acts of racism’ force cancellation of Bradford concert
Feeling squeezed by inflation? Bernie’s pushing handouts.
2022 record year for Vermont maple syrup
2022 Vermont maple syrup production totaled a record high 2.55 million gallons, most ever and (as usual) first in the nation.
McClaughry: Watch out for a heating oil crunch
For years Vermont’s climate change warriors have urged driving up oil and natural gas prices to force consumers to weatherize, and switch to alternatives such as “cold climate heat pumps” and advanced wood pellet furnaces.
IRS destroyed 30 million tax documents
Forced to dispense pandemic payment checks, the IRS got behind on its tax returning processing responsibilities.
Gas over $5 nationwide, public thinks it’s on purpose
More than half — 53% — of voters say they believe the Biden administration is intentionally letting gas prices increase to make Americans use less fossil fuels.
$5K reward for Burlington car fire info / hospital van thief tries ‘leg bail’ / suicide, rollover
A $5000 reward is being offered for information about a car set on fire with a flammmable liquid at 5 AM May 20.
Body of missing woman found
Police believe they have found the body of a missing 38-year-old woman whose empty car was found on a back road in Mt. Holly.
Vermont Daily Water Cooler for Fri, Jun 10
The Vermont Human Rights Commission defamed a state trooper in its decision about a dispute involving police and a landlord related to Francois Clemmons, the police officer on Mr. Rogers.
Flemming: Is Vermont media coverage really worse now than 10 years ago?
In his gushing over VTDigger, Walters neglects to mention the most positive media development of the past few years: the inception of conservative media in Vermont.
Jan. 6 Hearing Review: A Tour De Force That Demands To Be Seen On The Largest Screen Possible
Over the course of several hours, we learned that some rioters tried to destroy our democracy by entering the Capitol Building and taking selfies and putting their booted Nazi feet upon Nancy Pelosi’s sacred desk.
Parading past Bob Jones’ Farm and through Spruce Gum, West Pawlet will celebrate 75 years of volunteers saving buildings and lives
Pull up a chair, sit on a fence, wave to the marchers and cheer them on.
What’s in the $8.3 billion state budget?
With plenty of federal money to spend, lawmakers and Gov. Phil Scott had no difficulty finding and funding problems that need fixing.
Scott signs biggest Transportation bill ever (by $200 mil)
The feds offered, and the State of Vermont gladly accepted an unprecedented amount of $$ for highway improvements, public transit, and transitioning to electric vehicles.
Scott signs Burlington prostitution bill
A bill approving a Burlington City Charter change removing language about prostitution was signed by Gov. Phil Scott.
Commentary: Clean Heat Standard would have afflicted Vermont farmers fighting global famine
A capacity for local food production means that when times get tough, Vermont will have affordable nourishing food and will limit hunger in our communities.
Senate candidate Mermel endorsed by Mike Huckabee
“As one who had to run in a state dominated by Democrats – 91% of elected officials in Arkansas were Democrats when I ran – I know that you need to run with innovative ideas and be a different kind of conservative that focuses on solving real problems,” Mike Huckabee said.
Local gangs, increased gun sales blamed for Burlington gunfire epidemic
Burlington’s gunfire epidemic is caused by local gangs, not out-of-state drug rings, city officials said today.
Montpelier to hold town hall over school threat
Today’s headlines from Vermont news media.
ACLU: are Vermont’s prosecutors not reporting bad cops?
Elected prosecutors have a major role to play in holding police accountable for misconduct. That can include pressing criminal charges when police abuse their power and violate civil rights – something prosecutors rarely elect to do.
Will Sarah George face Boudin-like voter backlash?
The ACLU of Vermont is rallying behind progressive prosecutors promoting “criminal law reform and demands for police accountability.”
Unwanted school milk goes to food shelves, local pigs
Problem: students don’t want the milk that comes with subsidized meals, but schools don’t get paid by the feds if the kids refuse it. Solution: give the milk to local food shelves, or feed it to pigs.
Charges in fentanyl overdose /Chittenden County drug dealers sentenced to prison
Two Chittenden County men caught dealing heroin and other illegal drugs are headed to federal prison for multi-year terms.
Short of dispatchers, state juggles workload and offers $46K to start
The state’s dispatcher shortage is expected to become more acute in the coming months, as call volume typically increases during the summer, and additional staff departures are expected.
Have you seen this missing woman?
Police are looking for a missing person, a 38-year-old Mt. Holly woman whose empty car was found on a back road in Mt. Holly.
The New Fascism, Part III – Vermont’s Clean Heat Standard was corporate-driven legislation
Replacing fossil fuels with environmentally-unfriendly biofuels, without clear limits, would have created serious problems.
SF voters oust soft-on-crime prosecutor
Now that San Francisco voters have rejected its soft-on-crime district attorney, will Chittenden County voters contemplate the same for no-jail Sarah George?
Scott jabbed for safe injection site veto
Opponents of safe injection sites say their effectiveness is unclear and are a ‘foot in the door’ for legalizing possession and sale of hard drugs.
Evslin: An overabundance of caution is excessive
When it’s just plain dangerous to shut down nuclear power plants, baby formula factories, and schools “due to an abundance of caution.”
Beware rental housing scams / ferry service return unlikely
Everyone is looking – the Burlington School Board, for money to build a new high school; summer and child care employers, for workers; and ferry customers, for a ride across the Lake.
More Vermonters working, but still fewer than before pandemic
The ongoing post-pandemic employment gap of about 15,000 employed Vermonters, despite the unprecedented demand for workers, has led some Vermonters to wonder why.
Douglas backs Klar for state senate
“John Klar has the energy and the background to tackle our problems,” former Gov. James Douglas said.
Tynio: add school security, build citizen proficiency with firearms
Considering that shootings have also taken place at many locations outside of schools, I wish to encourage law abiding citizens to become proficient with firearms and to carry them whenever possible.
“Astounding” discovery of orchid believed extinct in VT since 1902
“Discovering a viable population of a federally threatened species unknown in our state for over a century is astounding,” said Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Botanist Bob Popp.
Alleged shooter on the lam / NYC man busted for dealing coke in Barre
A 61-year-old Johnson man with a drug crime record allegedly shot a 26-year-old man in the neck during a dispute on Railroad Street in Johnson.
Former inmate shot dead in Springfield
The death of Justin Gilliam, 38, is the latest in a series of shootings in Springfield, a once-prosperous mill town now experiencing heavy drug crime activity and a shortage of police officers.
Burlington power rate increase, new school too expensive to bond
The electricity rates are going up in Burlington, and the new high school’s price tag exceeds the city’s borrowing capacity.
McClaughry: Is there a sea level rise problem?
I got to thinking, the level of Lake Champlain varies by six feet over the course of each year, and that’s been going on since Champlain first visited here in 1609.
Vermont more lenient about drop box video, ballot harvesting than states in ‘2000 Mules’
Vermont is more lenient about ballot harvesting and drop box depositing and requires less video surveillance than some states seen in 2000 Mules.
Trump senior aide arrested by FBI after vowing Biden impeachment / AZ ballot harvesting guilty plea
An Arizona woman has pleaded guilty to using her position in the Democratic Party to illegally harvest ballots in a “sophisticated” ballot abuse scheme.
Dame: Dem solution to school shootings easy to explain, won’t solve underlying problem
Democrats act as if the solution to school shootings is to either take some guns away from all people, or take all guns away from some people.
Klar: China controls vital diesel fuel additive, and we’re running short
DEF is an emissions control liquid required by the EPA in diesel engines manufactured after 2010 as an “aftertreatment technology” to reduce vehicle emissions.
Lampreys look disgusting, but leave them alone
Connecticut River sea lamprey aren’t invasive like their Lake Champlain cousins.
Day after gunfire injures former City Councilor, Burlington mayor asks council to help stop “reckless shootings”
A day after a former Burlington city councilor was struck in the head by gunfire shrapnel in his own backyard, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger demanded the City Council and other authorities help stop the shooting spree in the state’s largest city.
Vermont man’s helmet a relic of D-Day, 1944
On the beaches of Normandy, June 6 1944, German gunfire took a terrific gouge out of a Norwich, Vermont man’s Army helmet – but he survived to write to his parents: “don’t worry.”
Dem who opposed Prop 5 faces primary
Voting your religious conscience on abortion-related legislation may have consequences, if you’re a Vermont Democratic legislator.
Water Cooler: Congrats to Darren Perron
The kid from Glover wins another Emmy. And now you, too, can adopt a storm drain. These headlines and others from Vermont media today.
Age hike for semi-auto purchase, body armor ban considered by Baruth
Body armor is like a radar detector because it gives crooks an unfair advantage over cops, Sen. Phil Baruth says.
Franklin County men fined for dumping boat / DUI #5 for ATV crash
Rather than paying to dispose of the boat properly, Bailey devised a plan to set the junk boat adrift in the Missisquoi River – but he didn’t have a tow hitch.
Alleged murderer was fentanyl dealer, police say
A search of a bag Moffitt hurriedly threw in the trash revealed more than 3,000 bags of suspected fentanyl, and distribution quantities of powder and crack cocaine.
Suspected Athens poacher busted for heroin, unlawful gun possession
Ryan Goodrich, 37, of of the Windham County town of Athens was arraigned Wednesday, June 1 on an indictment that alleges on March 3, Goodrich unlawfully possessed an unregistered short-barrel shotgun, unlawfully possessed multiple shotguns and an AR-style rifle due to Goodrich’s prior felony convictions, and unlawfully possessed heroin.
Proposal 5 has nothing to do with Roe V. Wade
Although advocates of Proposal 5 often cite respect for Roe v. Wade as a rallying cry, what they are calling for is, instead, a radical departure from that Supreme Court precedent.
Bananas: My dog is a bigoted bully
I am writing to seek help with my dog who has been revealing himself to be a bigoted, racist, transphobic, bully, and I don’t know what to do.
Plenty of shekels and shackles in new state housing laws
The two bills seek to address Vermont’s acute housing shortage with two popular tools of Vermont state government: shekels and shackles.
Water Cooler: arson in WRJ
A construction worker allegedly set fire to a White River Junction building.
Post-Uvalde, state reviews school safety, security
The State of Vermont has allocated $6 million in the last three years to enhance school safety – is it enough?
Burlington to deploy more cops downtown
No time like the present to build back the Burlington Police Department from 66 officers to the target roster of 85.
Winooski corner store closes after 28 years
J&Js provided Winooski residents with more than just tobacco and food – it cultivated community.
Go-go couple creates go-to dining in Randolph, Bethel
Anyone who meets J.J. Poljacik quickly realizes his vision is superseded only by his energy to make it happen.
Could ‘2000 Mules’-style ballot fraud happen in Vermont? Ballot harvesting, drop boxes legal here
Drop boxes, universal mailed ballots, and ballot harvesting – all crucial to the electoral fraud in six battleground states in the 2020 presidential election – are permitted under Vermont’s pandemic election law passed by the Legislature in 2020.
Double-fatal Williamstown tractor-trailer rollover / Big rig plunges off St. J I-91 bridge
Two harrowing tractor-trailer accidents yesterday resulted in two fatalities on Vermont roads.
Big egg factory torched
A barn that housed tens of thousands of chickens on Forsman Farm in Howard Lake, Minnesota, one of the nation’s largest egg producers, was set aflame late Saturday night.
GOP candidates address school violence at press conference today
School Resource Officers and other preventive steps are vital to preventing a school shooting in Vermont, candidates say.






